Checking the Epson Stylus Photo 1400 Print Head Nozzles

You can run a nozzle check to see if the print head needs cleaning. Follow the instructions below.

Before you check the print head nozzles, make sure the CD/DVD tray is not inserted in the printer.
1. Make sure the printer is turned on but not printing, and the red ink light is not on. (If the red H ink light is on, you need to replace a cartridge.)
2. Make sure letter-size plain paper is loaded in the printer.
3. Windows: Right-click the printer icon on your taskbar (in the lower right corner of your screen). Select Nozzle Check. Macintosh: Open the Applications folder and select EPSON Printer Utility. Epson Stylus Photo 1400 Printer in the printer list, click OK, and select Nozzle Check.

4. Follow the instructions on the screen to print the nozzle check pattern.

Print head does not need to be cleaned:

Print head needs to be cleaned:

5. If there are no gaps or lines, click Finish.
If there are gaps or lines, or the test patterns are faint, click Clean and follow the on-screen instructions to clean the print head.

Cleaning the Print Head Epson Stylus Photo 1400 Printer

If your printouts are unexpectedly light or dots or lines are missing, you may need to clean the print head.
This unclogs the nozzles so they can deliver ink properly.
Print head cleaning uses ink, so clean it only if quality declines.

Note:

Before you clean the print head, check the print head nozzles first to confirm that the
print head needs to be cleaned. This saves ink. For more information.
This section explains how to clean the print head using the Head Cleaning Utility.
You can also clean the print head by holding down the H ink button on the printer
for three seconds. (This only works when the red H ink light is off.)
Before you clean the print head, make sure the CD/DVD tray is not inserted in
the printer.

Caution:

When you don’t turn on your printer for a long time, print quality can decline, so turn it
on and print a few pages at least once a month to maintain the best print quality.

1. Make sure the printer is turned on but not printing, and the red H ink light is off. (If the red ink light is flashing or on, you need to replace a cartridge.)
2. Do one of the following:

Windows: Right-click the printer icon on your taskbar (in the lower right corner of your screen). Select Head Cleaning.

Macintosh: Open the Applications folder and select EPSON Printer Utility. Epson Stylus Photo 1400 Series in the printer list, click OK, then select Head Cleaning.

3. Follow the instructions on the screen to clean the print head.
The printer cleans the print head and the green P power light flashes.
Cleaning takes about two minutes.Caution:Never turn off the printer while head cleaning is in progress. You may damage it.
4. When the green P power light stops flashing, make sure paper is loaded in the printer, click Print Nozzle Check Pattern, then click Print.

5. If there are no gaps or lines, click Finish.
If there are gaps or lines, or the test patterns are faint, click Clean and follow the on-screen instructions to clean the print head again.
If you don’t see any improvement after cleaning four times, turn the printer off and wait at least 6 hours. This allows any dried ink to soften. Then, try cleaning the print head again.